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SEPTEMBER 2007
PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL MP VISITS LONDON
We were delighted to welcome our Sponsor, Professor Kader Asmal MP, to London on 25 and 26 September. He gave an inspirational speech on “Designing a Bill of Rights for a Diverse Society” on 26 September, before an invited audience comprising MPs, members of the House of Lords, academics and lawyers. His speech drew on his experience of both South Africa, where he was a prominent architect of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and Northern Ireland, currently the only part of the United Kingdom to be in the process of drawing up a Bill of Rights. Another of our Sponsors, Michael Mansfield QC, chaired the event. It is hoped to publish the speech in due course. We would like to thank the South African High Commission for their hospitality, and The Atlantic Philanthropies and the Community Fund Northern Ireland for their financial help. We would also like to thank Tess Gill very much indeed for hosting a reception for Kader. Above all, we would like to thank Kader, for coming such a great distance to galvanise our work on the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights. He went on to Belfast for a further three days, where he spoke at a conference organised by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Consortium on 28 September. Our Deputy Director, Lucy Claridge, attended this conference on our behalf. The conference provided a comprehensive and informative overview of the drafting process, including the tasks of the various working groups, whilst Kader’s speech was both enlightening and motivating.
Belfast conference on the bill of rights
On 6 September 2007, Caroline attended a conference held in Belfast by the Community Fund Northern Ireland, entitled “Making the Bill of Rights have a lasting legacy”. The conference drew together many representatives from grassroots, community development organisations across Northern Ireland, to look at the progression of the debate on the Bill of Rights. From BIRW’s perspective, this was a useful opportunity to learn more about what is happening on the ground in Northern Ireland.
ROSEMARY NELSON INQUIRY REFUSES BIRW FULL PARTICIPANT STATUS
Most unfortunately, the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry has turned down BIRW’s application to become a full participant in the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry. We are naturally disappointed, as we believe we could have added value to their deliberations. However, they have invited us to continue to make submissions to them, and we are considering how best to do so.
journalist is threatened on the eve of martin o’hagan anniversary
We were alarmed to hear that death threats had been made against Robin Livingstone, Editor of the Andersonstown News, Richard McAuley, Sinn Féin media spokesperson, and four other persons in the form of a package delivered on 27 September to Ulster Television in Belfast. The package contained three bullets and the names and car registration numbers, and in some cases addresses, of the people concerned. The death threats emanated from the Red Hand Defenders, almost certainly a pseudonym for elements within the Ulster Defence Association. Death threats against anyone at all are completely unacceptable, but death threats against journalists serve an additional purpose, which is to stifle the freedom of the press, a vital ingredient in everyone’s right to freedom of speech and expression. We have forwarded the information available to us to the United Nations and asked them to urge the government to take all necessary steps to protect those who have been threatened and to bring the perpetrators to justice. It is particularly concerning that this threat should be made on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the murder of journalist Martin O’Hagan, whose murder remains unsolved.
WITHDRAWAL OF HOUSE OF LORDS AL RAWI CASE
Two UK residents detained by the US authorities at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba have recently withdrawn their House of Lords challenge to obtain their release and return to the UK (Al Rawi & Others v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office & Secretary of State for Home Department). In August 2007, the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary decided to request the release and return to the UK of a number of detainees, including the two concerned. They have since continued these negotiations and it is hoped that steps will be in place to secure the quick release of the men. BIRW, The AIRE Centre, Fair Trials Abroad and Redress were granted leave to intervene in the case. BIRW welcome this eminently sensible development and look forward to the prompt release of the two concerned.
SUBMISSION ON UK TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
In October 2007, the UN Human Rights Committee will agree the list of issues which it will raise when formally considering the UK’s report on its compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. BIRW made detailed submissions regarding the UK’s current compliance with the Covenant, and suggested a number of questions which we feel the Human Rights Committee should raise with the UK Government. A full copy of the submissions can be found on our website. The formal adoption of the issues will take place on 29 October, whilst the full examination of the UK’s compliance is currently set for July 2008.
BILLY WRIGHT INQUIRY FACES PROBLEMS
We have written to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland expressing concern that the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Ministry of Defence have all failed to disclose intelligence materials relevant to the work of the Billy Wright Inquiry. When he announced the Inquiry on 1 April 2004, the then Secretary of State, Paul Murphy MP, speaking on behalf of the government, said that Judge Cory’s “reports raise matters that will cause serious concern. I agree wholeheartedly with Justice Cory's view that the public must have confidence in public institutions”. Such obstruction of an inquiry by government agencies hardly achieves that goal.
YET MORE COUNTER-TERRORISM PROPOSALS
BIRW have written submissions to a number of bodies on the proposed counter-terrorism measures. These have included extending detention time and longer sentences. Many of the measures have been proposed before. Two Parliamentary Committees are holding their own inquiries into the issue, which is a promising sign that the interaction between human rights and counter-terrorism has moved a little further up the agenda. We understand that the government intends to introduce yet another counter-terrorism bill in the near future.
McGURK’S BAR
We continue to wait for the HET to release the report into the McGurk’s Bar bomb – the family Caroline works with are particularly distressed at both the length of time taken and the fact that the HET keep providing ‘false’ deadlines, which raise the family’s expectations. The family will pose a question to the Policing Board, via a local politician, regarding the conduct of the HET.
NGOs MEET HISTORICAL ENQUIRIES TEAM
On 13 September 2007, the Pat Finucane Centre, BIRW and the Committee on the Administration of Justice met the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team to discuss how they are dealing with a group of murders that took place in the early 1970s. As a result, the HET are re-visiting the way they handle these cases, which hopefully will benefit not only those families who are in touch with the NGOs but all affected families.
raising birw’s profile
BIRW has acquired a very fetching banner to use at public events, and also produced a new leaflet about our work to use as a fundraising tool.
RAISE MONEY FOR BRITISH IRISH RIGHTS WATCH IF YOU BUY CHRISTMAS CARDS THIS YEAR
If you’re buying Christmas cards this year, please think of British Irish RIGHTS WATCH. We have teamed up with an online Christmas card company called Studio 51 - www.Studio51.com - who have agreed that for every pound you spend buying Christmas cards from them, we will receive a huge contribution of 51p.
Studio51 has a wide collection of good quality cards at fair prices, starting at £3.99 for 20 and up to £6.50 for 10. The website is very easy to use: just select your cards, select British Irish RIGHTS WATCH, pay online or by cheque and the cards will then be delivered to you by first class post within a few days. You can order a sample to check the quality and Studio51 also guarantees that, if for any reason you are not satisfied, they will refund you the price of the cards.
HIGH PROFILE FILM TO FOCUS ON THE ISSUE OF EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION
A major film focusing on the practice of extraordinary rendition (the kidnapping of persons and taking them to third countries to be tortured), and the use of secret prisons and illegal interrogation techniques, is soon to be released. “Rendition” stars a number of well-known Hollywood actors; the story centres around CIA involvement in and observation of an interrogation of an alleged terrorist suspect at a secret detention facility outside the US. “Rendition” will be released in the UK on 19 October 2007. We were also interested to note that extraordinary rendition and the repellent form of torture known as waterboarding (semi-drowning people) appeared in a recent play on ITV television, in its new series The Whistleblowers, broadcast on 27 September 2007. Although fictional, BIRW welcomes these contributions to highlighting the existence of these abhorrent practices.
angela hickey, 21.6.1951 – 13.9.2006
This month marked the first anniversary of the death of our friend and former Chair, Angela Hickey. She is sadly missed.
Jane Winter,
Director,
28th September 2007.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
